Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they intend to take in response to recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics on the number of babies that have been aborted in advanced pregnancy because scans showed that they had club feet, webbed fingers, cleft palate or extra digits.

Lord Warner: Parliament decided in 1967 that one of the grounds for an abortion is,
	"that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped".
	Parliament did not define serious handicap in the Act. Indeed, it chose to leave this to the expert judgment of the two doctors involved, who are required to form their own opinion about the seriousness of the handicap the child would suffer if born, taking into account the facts and circumstances of each individual case.
	The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' guideline Termination of Pregnancy for fetal abnormality (1996) gives advice to medical practitioners and also states that if an abnormality has been detected and two medical practitioners are of the opinion that there are grounds for a termination under the Abortion Act, then the woman should be advised that she has this option.

Armed Forces: Active Service Overseas

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will visit and explain government objectives to military personnel of all ranks prior to their leaving the United Kingdom for active service overseas.

Lord Drayson: Operational mission directives are derived from government objectives, both of which are outlined formally in the directive issued by the Chief of Defence Staff for every operational deployment. These objectives are then cascaded by military commanders to all personnel when preparing to deploy and while deployed on operations. Ministers regularly visit military personnel in the UK and in operational theatres as part of routine business. It would not be practical for Ministers to visit all ranks of military personnel deploying for active service overseas, whether based in the UK, Germany, Cyprus or elsewhere.

Armed Forces: Predator Armed Drone

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel operating the Predator armed drone under operational conditions have caused any casualties on the ground.

Lord Drayson: We have no record of ground-based casualties resulting from the participation of UK personnel in Predator UAV strikes.

Armed Forces: Predator Armed Drone

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the United Kingdom Armed Forces personnel operating the Predator armed drone under operational conditions operate under United Kingdom or United States rules of engagement.

Lord Drayson: UK military personnel embedded with US forces remain subject to UK law and service law. They are authorised only to be involved in the planning or execution of operations that comply with British domestic and international legal obligations, including the principles of the laws of armed conflict and the use of force in self-defence. This means that they are bound by the UK's determination of the ambit of the armed conflict, including the determination of which armed groups constitute legitimate targets. Within those constraints, UK embedded personnel act within US rules of engagement may use US collateral damage methodology and work to US delegated authorities.

Banks: Transaction Charges

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will investigate charges levied by United Kingdom commercial banks on transfers between sterling and euro accounts in Britain and other European Union countries.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The setting of charges by banks on transfers between accounts is a commercial decision for each individual bank. However, it is clearly important that consumers and businesses are aware of the charges they face for such transfers. To achieve this, the banking code requires banks to inform customers personally if charges are increased or introduced.

Benefits: Incapacity Benefit

Lord Skelmersdale: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	For each of the past 10 years for which figures are available, what percentage of incapacity benefit claimants moved to job seeker's allowance.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The available information is in the table.
	
		Incapacity benefit (IB) terminations in the periods shown, commencing a spell on jobseeker's allowance within 90 days of -- IB termination and as a percentage of all IB terminations
		
			  
			 Sep 1995-Aug 1996 251,000 24 per cent 
			 Sep 1996-Aug 1997 207,000 22 per cent 
			 Sep 1997-Aug 1998 199,200 22 per cent 
			 Sep 1998-Aug 1999 170,100 20 per cent 
			 Sep 1999-Aug 2000 152,500 20 per cent 
			 Sep 2000-Aug 2001 136,200 19 per cent 
			 Sep 2001-Aug 2002 136,200 19 per cent 
			 Sep 2002-Aug 2003 132,600 19 per cent 
			 Sep 2003-Aug 2004 125,600 18 per cent 
			 Sep 2004-Aug 2005 124,900 18 per cent 
		
	
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
	2. Figures for recent quarters do not include some late notifications and are subject to future changes.
	Source:
	Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether a person has a claim to British overseas citizenship under Article 6(1) of the Hong Kong (British Nationality) Order 1986 if (a) he acquired British Dependent Territories citizenship under Section 15(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981; (b) he was a citizen of India, at birth, solely by virtue of descent; (c) prior to 30 June 1997 his parent renounced Indian citizenship under the provisions of Section 8(1) of the Citizenship Act 1955; (d) as a consequence of (c) above he lost his own Indian citizenship under the provisions of Section 8(2) of the Citizenship Act 1955; (e) immediately before 1 July 1997 he was a British Dependent Territories citizen, and, if it had not been for his connection with Hong Kong, he would not have been such a citizen; (f) prior to 1 July 1997, he failed to acquire the status of British national (overseas); (g) he has not held any citizenship or nationality other than those described in (a) and (b); and (h) being unaware that he may have a claim to British overseas citizenship, he is holding or has held an Indian passport to which he was not entitled by virtue of (c) and (d) above.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Based on our current understanding of Indian citizenship law, yes. However, if he still holds an Indian passport, we would normally require written confirmation from the Indian authorities that he was in fact not an Indian citizen on 1 July 1997 before formally acknowledging the claim to British overseas citizenship.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why reconsideration of wrongly refused applications for British citizenship made under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 take longer to process if they are made in the United Kingdom, when all such applications are processed by the Home Office in the United Kingdom.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Such applications for reconsideration do not take longer to process if they are made in the United Kingdom than they do in Hong Kong. However, those from Hong Kong arrive through the diplomatic bag and pass straight to caseworkers. Those made in the UK arrive through the Royal Mail along with up to 10,000 other citizenship applications a month and are not so easily identifiable. They may take longer to allocate to caseworkers, but the processing times remain the same.

British Citizenship

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether applications for reconsideration of decisions made under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 are considered in order of receipt; and, if so, why some applicants who requested reconsideration in February 2006 have not received registration certificates when some of those who requested reconsideration in March 2006 already have.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Subject to my previous Answer on processing times for reconsidered applications, applications are considered broadly in order of receipt. However, some individual applications take longer to reconsider because further information is needed before a decision on whether to grant citizenship can be reached.

Consultants: Department for Education and Skills

Baroness Morris of Yardley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many contracts have been let to consultants by the Department for Education and Skills during the past 12 months; at what cost; and for what purpose.

Lord Adonis: This information could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Entry Clearances: EU Nationals

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In what circumstances citizens of other European Union member states can be banned from entry into the United Kingdom.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The right of movement within the European Union (EU) for EU nationals is governed by directive 2004/38/EC. This entered into force on 30 April 2006. It includes provisions that allow a member state to exclude or remove an EU national from its territory on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health. This directive is transposed into UK law by the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006. Provisions setting out the basis for exclusion or removal of an EU national are contained in Regulations 19 to 21 and 24.

EU: Hazardous Waste Directive

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the light of new evidence, they will make representations to the European Commission to repeal the hazardous waste directive, which bans the use of lead and five other metals in electronic products and comes into force on 1 July; and whether they will delay its implementation in the United Kingdom pending an examination of the effects on British industry, including any financial effects.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Being a single market directive, the UK could not delay the implementation of the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment directive without serious threat to the functioning of the free movement of goods across the European Union.
	A regulatory impact assessment, outlining the financial effect on British industry, was recently updated and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Extraordinary Rendition Flights

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have issued any instructions over the past 12 months to ensure that commanding officers of military airfields know what action they should take if they suspect that an aircraft movement might involve rendition.

Lord Drayson: No such instructions are necessary because, as the Government have repeated on several occasions, we are clear that the US would not render a detainee through UK territory or airspace (including overseas territories) without our permission.

Fair Trade

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have adopted or will adopt a fair trade purchasing policy as proposed by the Make Poverty History coalition.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Department of Trade and Industry works closely with other government departments to promote fair trade, and the Government are committed to supporting fair trade through their own suppliers wherever possible within the boundaries set by EU and public procurement rules, and the need to obtain best value for money for the taxpayer.
	Within these boundaries, government departmental restaurants and cafeterias stock a wide range of fair trade products, including coffee, tea, sugar, hot chocolate, chocolate bars, fruit and fruit bars.

Female Genital Mutilation

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will take steps to support victims of female genital mutilation.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Yes. We are actively taking steps to support victims of female genital mutilation (FGM). This includes funding voluntary organisations such as FORWARD which work closely with health, education and child protection agencies, and the practising communities themselves.
	There are seven specialist clinics in the NHS catering for the particular health needs of women and girls who have been mutilated. The Department of Health is funding research on the prevalence of FGM in this country and the production of training materials for professionals dealing with victims of FGM. In addition, the Home Office, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills have together provided information about female genital mutilation to police forces and others in the criminal justice system, doctors and midwives throughout the country, and local authority social services departments and the education sector. Working Together to Safeguard Children, the main multi-agency guidance on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, makes clear that a local authority may exercise its powers under Section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if it has reason to believe that a child is likely to suffer or has suffered mutilation.
	Internationally, we support work in a large number of countries, particularly Africa, aimed at eradicating FGM and providing adequate healthcare for girls and women affected by it. British consular staff can provide assistance and support to victims of FGM who have been taken overseas, such as helping to arrange for medical treatment and repatriation. They can also work with foreign and UK law enforcement agencies to try to locate a potential victim before FGM is carried out.

Financial Services Authority

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the reference to a value-for-money review of the Financial Services Authority made by the Lord McKenzie of Luton on 8 June (HL Deb, col. 1432) (a) when and where the review was first announced; (b) what progress has been made since then in appointing someone to carry out the review; (c) what are or will be the terms of reference of the review; and (d) when the review is intended to report.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Last year's Pre-Budget Report announced that the Government would be conducting a value-for-money review to examine the FSA's use of resources to help the FSA to operate efficiently, economically and effectively. The Treasury aims to hold the first such review in the near future.

Food

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 9 March (WA 150), whether the statutory Food Law Code of Practice (England) has been issued; and, if not, when it will be.

Lord Warner: The statutory Food Law Code of Practice relating to England was issued on 10 March 2006 together with the associated non-statutory practice guidance document. Copies were sent to all food authorities in England and placed in the Library. The documents are also available on the Food Standards Agency website at www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/foodlaw/copengland.

House of Lords: Water and Electricity

Lord Dubs: asked the Chairman of Committees:
	What action is being taken to reduce water and electricity use in House of Lords areas of the Parliamentary Estate.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The House of Lords, together with the House of Commons, has recently adopted a new energy and water savings policy which was endorsed by the Administration and Works Committee on 22 November 2005.
	Features of the new policy include the following:
	£25,000 is being invested annually in energy and water efficiency initiatives;
	the Parliamentary Estates Directorate is participating in the Whitehall combined heat and power schemes;
	energy and water audits are used when assessing all proposed new building projects;
	efficient appliances, materials and methods will be used when undertaking new works, repairs and maintenance to buildings;
	a target 10 per cent of electricity to be sourced from renewable sources has been set and has already been met;
	a system for energy and water monitoring has been established. This will allow progress against agreed targets to be assessed for the estate as a whole, and for each building. Regular feedback on progress and achievements against targets will be provided to the Energy Savers Group, senior management and domestic committees;
	members of staff in each departmental office in the two Houses are involved in energy and water management as nominated energy savers;
	the awareness of occupants of the Palace is being raised through energy and water saving campaigns. A series of sustainability seminars has been organised by the Parliamentary Estates Directorate;
	staff are encouraged to contribute ideas and suggestions for improving energy and water efficiency, maintain interest, learn from failures and promote success; and
	consultants are considering the use of renewable energy systems on the Parliamentary Estate.

Immigration: Deportation

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether persons continuously resident in the United Kingdom for over 12 years, who are taxpayers with no criminal convictions, can be deported on the grounds that they have no right of abode.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: A person subject to immigration control, and not convicted of an imprisonable offence, can still be deported on the grounds that the Secretary of State deems his deportation to be conducive to the public good. A person with the right of abode in the UK cannot be deported.

Immigration: Deportation

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will respond to the application for leave to remain made in February 2005 by Flor, Alan, Valessy and Indira Cazas, currently resident in the Wirral.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Cazas family will be contacted shortly, via their representatives, detailing the further action required to ensure that their asylum claims can be processed, and will be informed as soon as a decision on their asylum claims has been made.

Immigration: Leave to Remain

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether a person who is physically present but has no valid leave to remain in the United Kingdom is considered ordinarily resident here; and, if not, whether that person is considered ordinarily resident in the place from where they originated or belong.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: A person who is physically present but does not have valid leave to remain in the United Kingdom is not considered ordinarily resident here. United Kingdom legislation does not determine whether a person would be considered ordinarily resident in the place where they originated or belong.

Mental Health

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What percentage of United Kingdom employees experience mental health problems each year; and what programmes are in place to assist with the reduction of workplace stress.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government take the issue of mental health at work very seriously. In the past three years, the percentage of UK employees who have reported stress, anxiety or depression caused or made worse by work are given in the table below.
	
		
			 Year Estimated prevalence rate of self-reported stress, depression or anxiety caused or made worse by work, per 100 employed in the past 12 months 
			 2001–02 1.31 
			 2003–04 1.28 
			 2004–05 1.19 
		
	
	The Government have set up a target for the reduction of ill health as a result of work activity and the Health and Safety Commission has put in hand programmes of work to help achieve this target, which was set out in Revitalising Health and Safety (June 2000). Since 2000, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been working on a programme of activity to tackle work-related stress. An important part of this has been the development of new management standards for work-related stress, which were published in November 2004. The standards and supporting material are freely available on HSE's website and provide a practical means of assessing and tackling this issue in all workplaces.
	To encourage uptake of the standards in the sectors experiencing high prevalence levels of stress, on 27 June 2006, I will be launching, with HSE, a series of workshops to equip organisations to tackle this key occupational health issue.

Missile Defence

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they received a copy of the NATO study on missile defence, announced on 10 May; and whether they will make available a summary of its analysis and conclusion.

Lord Drayson: The NATO missile defence feasibility study was formally delivered to nations on 10 May 2006. The study is classified and the disclosure of its conclusions would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of UK Armed Forces or our allies. A number of options are considered in the study, based on a range of assumptions and the expected performance of potential alliance missile defence capabilities. NATO will now review those assumptions and decide how to take the work forward.

NHS: Dentistry

Lord Colwyn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many (a) new general dental contracts; and (b) new personal dental services agreements which have been offered to dentists have been (i) signed, and (ii) rejected in each primary care trust and in total in England on the most recent date for which information is available.

Lord Warner: Management estimates on the number of signed and rejected contracts have been placed in the Library. The information was collected in April 2006.
	A contract may be for either a practice or an individual dentist.
	Primary care trusts are using the funding associated with rejected contracts to commission additional services from other dentists.

NHS: Private Finance Initiative

Baroness Shephard of Northwold: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proportion of the projected National Health Service deficit for this year is due to an overspend on private finance initiative hospital projects.

Lord Warner: The unaudited year-end data for 2005–06, recently published by the Department of Health, show that, of the 174 National Health Service and primary care trusts forecasting a deficit, 11 per cent have a private finance initiative (PFI) scheme.
	There is no direct correlation between a trust meeting its PFI unitary charge and incurring a deficit. Unitary payments—paid for from a trust's general revenue allocations—include elements for "hard" and "soft" facilities management services, financing costs as well as ensuring the availability of the facility and are just one component of a trust's total expenditure.

Pensions

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	If the proposals in the May 2006 White Paper, Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system, are implemented in full, what will be all the specific circumstances in which a credit will be awarded towards a qualifying year for (a) a basic state pension and state second pension; (b) a basic state pension only; and (c) a state second pension only, denoting those credits which apply weekly or otherwise.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The White Paper, Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system, (Cm 6841) sets out a package of proposed reforms. It includes a number of measures which would help to make the system more flexible and make national insurance credits more valuable, and more generous.
	The proposed reduction of the number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension to 30 is a very significant change that makes the system more flexible; it allows people to undertake a variety of activities during their working lives, and still be able to build a full basic state pension. This would be particularly beneficial to women.
	Credits would be made more valuable by removing the first contribution condition, so that credits count towards pension entitlements in exactly the same way as paid contributions for the first time. This clearly signals that social contributions are rewarded and recognised by society in the same way as paid work. The credits would be awarded on a weekly basis only to the extent needed for the year to become a qualifying year.
	In addition to making credits more valuable, the credits system would be made more comprehensive and generous, by reforming home responsibilities protection into a weekly credit and introducing new weekly credits for parents and carers—aligned in BSP and S2P and these would count towards satisfying the qualifying years in the same way as paid contributions.
	The new credits which will be introduced if the proposals in the White Paper Security in Retirement are implemented in full are shown in the table.
	
		
			  BSP S2P 
			 Carer's credit (20 hours' caring) Y Y 
			 Parent's credit Y Y 
			 Foster carer's credit Y Y 
		
	
	All the credits will be awarded on a weekly basis.
	There will be no specific circumstances in which state second pension will accrue without there being entitlement to basic state pension.
	Circumstances in which credits are currently awarded towards basic state pension are listed in the table below. Where there is also eligibility for state second pension, if credits are awarded throughout the tax year, this is noted.
	
		
			 Starting credits (aged 16 to 18) BSP S2P 
			 Approved training courses Y N 
			 Jury Service Y N 
			 Former prisoners with quashed convictions Y N 
			 Men aged 60 to 64* Y N 
			 Jobseeker's Allowance Y N 
			 Incapacity Benefit (short-term) Y N 
			 Incapacity Benefit (long-term) Y Y** 
			 Severe Disablement Allowance Y Y 
			 Carer's Allowance Y Y 
			 Statutory Sick Pay Y N 
			 Statutory Adoption Pay Y N 
			 Working Tax Credit Y N 
			 Maternity Allowance Y N 
			 Unemployability supplement Y N 
			 Unemployed, actively seeking work (no JSA) Y N 
			 Incapable of work through illness (no IB) Y Y** 
		
	
	Key: Y = Yes, N=No
	* If the WP proposals are implemented in full, these will be phased out in line with the increase in women's SPA.
	** This is currently subject to satisfying the labour market test.

Police: Information Sharing

Baroness Harris of Richmond: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 19 April (WA 227), what mechanisms will be introduced to allow the proper and real-time sharing of information between police forces through the Cross-Regional Information Sharing Project.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The IMPACT Programme is supporting police forces in their work to provide data from their force operational systems in a common format to allow them to be shared via the Cross-Regional Information Sharing Project (CRISP) system. The programme is also testing and developing the CRISP product in preparation for planned national rollout in mid-2007.

Post Office Card Account

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What arrangements they will put in place to provide assistance to those members of the public who have a Post Office card account but are unable to open a bank account because of disability, old age or illness.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Disability, old age or illness should not be a barrier to opening a bank account. For example, more than 90 per cent. of pensioners have a bank account.
	Customers moving from the Post Office card account will have a number of alternative account options which will meet a wide range of needs and circumstances—including more than 25 bank accounts which can already be accessed at Post Office branches (and we hope there could be more in future), as well as new savings accounts which the Post Office is introducing. There is no real difference in accessing money at the Post Office through a bank account compared to a Post Office card account—people can go on collecting the same money, on the same day, at the Post Office using a plastic card and PIN. Customers who have managed to open and operate a Post Office card account should be able to do the same with at least a basic bank account.
	The Department for Work and Pensions also plans to put in place arrangements to provide help and support for customers to open new bank accounts when appropriate, and for the foreseeable future, DWP cheques will be available for the very small number of people who are unable to open or operate any sort of account.

Post Office Card Account

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they will take to assist those unable to open a bank account due to lack of identification such as a driving licence or passport to replace a Post Office card account.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Money laundering legislation requires the banks to check their customers' identity before opening an account. The banks are able to accept a wide range of documents to prove identity, including a utility bill. As basic bank accounts do not usually present a high money laundering risk, there should be fewer checks than for opening a current account.
	The Department for Work and Pensions also has arrangements in place where it can provide written confirmation that a customer is receiving a benefit or pension, and this can be accepted by the banks if the customer does not have any other acceptable documentation to prove their identity.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 23 May (WA 87), why the nationality recorded for sentenced people in prison in Scotland is given as at 30 June 2004; when they will provide more up-to-date information; and what arrangements exist for ensuring that the national security implications of criminals with foreign nationality held in prisons in Scotland are dealt with on a United Kingdom basis.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Information on the nationality of sentenced prisoners in prison in Scotland for 31 March 2005, as provided by the Scottish Executive, is given in the table attached. Information for 31 March 2006 is expected to be available in the latter part of 2006. On matters of national security, the Scottish Prison Service would assist all relevant agencies as required, regardless of a prisoner's nationality.
	
		Nationality recorded for all sentenced prisoners in custody on 31 March 2005 -- Prisoners in prison in Scotland
		
			 Nationality All 
			 Total 5,668 
			 Algerian 1 
			 American 1 
			 Australian 1 
			 Brazilian 2 
			 British 5,612 
			 Canadian 4 
			 Dutch 5 
			 German 1 
			 Indian 3 
			 Iranian 2 
			 Iraqi 2 
			 Libyan 1 
			 Other African 10 
			 Other Asian 2 
			 Other Commonwealth 2 
			 Other European 5 
			 Pakistani 2 
			 Russian 2 
			 Southern African 3 
			 Southern Irish 5 
			 Spanish 1 
			 Turkish 1 
		
	
	Note:
	As recorded on Scottish Prison Service's management information database.
	Where no nationality is included, "British" is the default nationality on the Scottish Prison Service management information database, some of the people recorded as British may not be British.

Prisons

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Home Office has reviewed the policy by which prisoners are allocated to open prisons; and what that policy is now.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The criteria for categorisation for allocation to open conditions have been reviewed and it was concluded that they did not need to be revised. However, governors have been instructed to take into account recent public statements made by Ministers, including the Prime Minister, regarding the likelihood of deportation when considering foreign national prisoners for category D status and allocation to open conditions. The overriding purpose of the security classification must be to ensure that prisoners are retained in custody with a level of security that is consistent with the need to protect the public.

RAF: Bombs

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they intend to take the BL755 bomb out of service; and whether their future plans include an air dropped cluster munitions capability.

Lord Drayson: The RAF's BL755 and RBL755 anti-armour cluster bombs are due out of service by the end of the decade.
	The RAF has no plans for future air dropped cluster munitions. The UK's fast-jet launched anti-armour capability is now achieved primarily with precision anti-armour missiles such as Brimstone and Maverick.